I remember when the most important discussion about an MMO wasn't the payment model. When you know more about how you are going to pay for the game, than you know about the actual game itself (*cough* The Agency *cough*) then you really have to sit back and wonder where the hell things went wrong.
I remember when the most exciting thing about the MMO was the game, not the developer or publisher. Nowadays, people will base their opinion purely on who is making the game, and marketting the game - they don't have to know anything else about the game. I'm not saying it's wrong to do this - I'm just saying it's a shame we are even capable of this. Moreover...
... I remember when launching a crappy game meant you were about to go out of business - and rightly so. If SOE had pulled a stunt like they did with SWG 10 years ago... they wouldn't have been around any longer. The only reason they got away with it, was because they were financially stable enough to take this "calculated risk".
I remember when the MMO was the absolute best gaming experience you could get. These days, even the other nerds of the world who play video games think we're weird.
I remember when every MMO wasn't doomed to fail. An MMO is either a WoW killer, or it isn't. If it isn't, then people consider it a failure. If it is... well... that hasn't happened yet.
I remember when there were more betas than games..
i remember when every mmo was different.. this point i quite agree with you. several years ago, i played different games. however , nowdays. all mmo seems the same..why??
Because they stopped innovating, instead going with what worked for one game. Other genres do this all the time man. Every once in a while, you'll get a game that comes along that actually does well commercially, as well as innovatively.
Call of Duty is a good example of this. WWII shooters weren't quite as "everywhere you look" as they were in the past year, but they were on the quick rise. CoD stood out above the rest, even overshadowing its predecessor, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.
Today, because it introduced one simple mechanic, almost every shooter thereafter has used it. To play an FPS without this feature, these days, makes the game seem like it's missing something important, unless it's just geared towards an all out frag-fest like UT. Aiming down the sights is probably the best thing to happen to the FPS since Half-Life before it.
So, MMO's do what the last "big deal" did that made it stand apart from the crowd. The trouble is, what makes it even worse for the MMO market, is that they are so much more costly, and they take so much longer to make - well... to hear the developers talk they do.
Half-Life 2 spent almost 6 years in development. The game lasts maybe 10 hours, and it's completely scripted and level based. Six years - that's longer than a MMO spends in development. In all honesty, I think the reason most MMO's today suck, is because the devs burn out on a design they know isn't innovative and new.
I remember early MMOs being the most horrid looking and boring experiences I could ever imagine.
So I remember staying with MUDs. With full looting, eventual permadeath, everyone knowing everyone just by their play style, people kicking ass with a weak class because there was skill involved, GMs interacting and roleplaying with the players.
Then I remember seeing how innovative CoH was with, character customization, travel powers and focusing on the group experience, and how many MMO players thought it was lacking in content when it was limitless in content and removed many of the boring aspects of most MMOs.
I am glad this post is still alive and rolling ....
I enjoy hearing the community stories! It brings a smile to my face to hear about CoX -- the costumes. EQ1 -- the DANGER. DAOC -- welcome to RvR.
I applaud you all for asking "why have we gone backwards, or a standstill?" I look forward to future games to be a WoW killer ... cant wait for that day to come.
Anyone wanna join me on a camp of Guk Ghoul Lord?
I remember when tanks werent armored tanks with big guns, but armored tanks who you couldnt kill ... why did the progression of the warrior in todays games change focus so much? What was wrong with the old role -- meat shield? Why do priests in some games do more DPS than caster/ranged --- AoC? What are people thinking....
Dont we all. I think WoW has set the bar for the next generation of MMOs. I am not sure which bars they have set... pvp wise? pve wise... but none the less it seems to be the measuring stick of the last few years.
Names like WOW Killer ... etc are beginning to come to light. I love it. I applaud Blizzard for their success. I dont like their model, but how can you not like their results. More people MMO than ever before ... one big reason WOW.
I look forward to the next game that opens the market some more so we will have more choices, people to play with and guilds to belong too.
I remember when I wasn't forced to quest in order for my character to grow. I remember when I didn't have a stupid number pasted on my head to tell everyone how powerful I was. I remember when there were no Classes, only skills. I miss Star Wars Galaxies.
Tried: LotR, CoH, AoC, WAR, Jumpgate Classic Played: SWG, Guild Wars, WoW Playing: Eve Online, Counter-strike Loved: Star Wars Galaxies Waiting for: Earthrise, Guild Wars 2, anything sandbox.
I remember when Pking was actually a thrill and there was risk and reward for winning and losing. I remember when you needed to group to survive. I remember when Skill was more important than your equips.
I remember PKs.. before PvP existed, man I hated them, and man I miss them.
I remember if you wanted to talk to someone who wasn't on your screen, you used ICQ.
I remember " Vendor buy the bank from the guards" (i hope someone else does)
I remeber no endgame, grouping to go do stuff. Loot that had no names, random drops, cheering for that .1 skill gain.
i remember wearing a tunic, a kilt, thighhigh boots, and taking off my helmet in town so no one would have any idea if i was a warrior, mage or have any idea what armor i had.
i remember standing around chatting for hours.
I remember running like hell if i clicked on someone and saw "Dread Lord"
I remember getting my ass whooped by that rabbit i wanted to skin, gut and cook.
How bout those guys that would sit fishing foor hours and hours every day? They would even ewar straw hats.
Most of all I remember my buddy Jarkel messaging me at 5am with crackpot schemes he cooked up( usually involving explosion potions).
I remember when I played The Empire Strikes Back on my Atari for hours and thought it was the best game ever. Now it can keep me entertained for about a minute. Games were NOT as great as you remember them being "back then".
I loved my POS Chevy Celebrity in college. I wouldnt' drive it now if you paid me=) Just like I would NEVER go back a play a game that revisits all that mind numbing tedium and frustrration that UO and EQ started. What a big waste of time it all was;) I could've created a few animated shorts with the time I used up playing those 1st MMOs;)
Comments
I remember feeling scared...
I remember feeling important...
I remember feeling joy, excitement, exhileration...
I remember feeling pride...
I remember feeling loss and gain...
I remember... feeling...
...Ok, I'll stop being so emo about MMOs I SWEAR!!!
"They essentially want to say 'Correlation proves Causation' when it's just not true." - Sovrath
I remeber my first day outside of freeport killing a skeleton and finding a weapon and how it was more exciting then attaining Brutal Gear
I Am Good I Am Evil
I am.... Zerofreeze
I remember when the most important discussion about an MMO wasn't the payment model. When you know more about how you are going to pay for the game, than you know about the actual game itself (*cough* The Agency *cough*) then you really have to sit back and wonder where the hell things went wrong.
I remember when the most exciting thing about the MMO was the game, not the developer or publisher. Nowadays, people will base their opinion purely on who is making the game, and marketting the game - they don't have to know anything else about the game. I'm not saying it's wrong to do this - I'm just saying it's a shame we are even capable of this. Moreover...
... I remember when launching a crappy game meant you were about to go out of business - and rightly so. If SOE had pulled a stunt like they did with SWG 10 years ago... they wouldn't have been around any longer. The only reason they got away with it, was because they were financially stable enough to take this "calculated risk".
I remember when the MMO was the absolute best gaming experience you could get. These days, even the other nerds of the world who play video games think we're weird.
I remember when every MMO wasn't doomed to fail. An MMO is either a WoW killer, or it isn't. If it isn't, then people consider it a failure. If it is... well... that hasn't happened yet.
i remember when every mmo was different.. this point i quite agree with you. several years ago, i played different games. however , nowdays. all mmo seems the same..why??
Because they stopped innovating, instead going with what worked for one game. Other genres do this all the time man. Every once in a while, you'll get a game that comes along that actually does well commercially, as well as innovatively.
Call of Duty is a good example of this. WWII shooters weren't quite as "everywhere you look" as they were in the past year, but they were on the quick rise. CoD stood out above the rest, even overshadowing its predecessor, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.
Today, because it introduced one simple mechanic, almost every shooter thereafter has used it. To play an FPS without this feature, these days, makes the game seem like it's missing something important, unless it's just geared towards an all out frag-fest like UT. Aiming down the sights is probably the best thing to happen to the FPS since Half-Life before it.
So, MMO's do what the last "big deal" did that made it stand apart from the crowd. The trouble is, what makes it even worse for the MMO market, is that they are so much more costly, and they take so much longer to make - well... to hear the developers talk they do.
Half-Life 2 spent almost 6 years in development. The game lasts maybe 10 hours, and it's completely scripted and level based. Six years - that's longer than a MMO spends in development. In all honesty, I think the reason most MMO's today suck, is because the devs burn out on a design they know isn't innovative and new.
I remember early MMOs being the most horrid looking and boring experiences I could ever imagine.
So I remember staying with MUDs. With full looting, eventual permadeath, everyone knowing everyone just by their play style, people kicking ass with a weak class because there was skill involved, GMs interacting and roleplaying with the players.
Then I remember seeing how innovative CoH was with, character customization, travel powers and focusing on the group experience, and how many MMO players thought it was lacking in content when it was limitless in content and removed many of the boring aspects of most MMOs.
I am glad this post is still alive and rolling ....
I enjoy hearing the community stories! It brings a smile to my face to hear about CoX -- the costumes. EQ1 -- the DANGER. DAOC -- welcome to RvR.
I applaud you all for asking "why have we gone backwards, or a standstill?" I look forward to future games to be a WoW killer ... cant wait for that day to come.
Anyone wanna join me on a camp of Guk Ghoul Lord?
I remember when tanks werent armored tanks with big guns, but armored tanks who you couldnt kill ... why did the progression of the warrior in todays games change focus so much? What was wrong with the old role -- meat shield? Why do priests in some games do more DPS than caster/ranged --- AoC? What are people thinking....
I remember when a game was so "fun" it was hard to log off.
Amen!
I remember before World of Warcraft.
Dont we all. I think WoW has set the bar for the next generation of MMOs. I am not sure which bars they have set... pvp wise? pve wise... but none the less it seems to be the measuring stick of the last few years.
Names like WOW Killer ... etc are beginning to come to light. I love it. I applaud Blizzard for their success. I dont like their model, but how can you not like their results. More people MMO than ever before ... one big reason WOW.
I look forward to the next game that opens the market some more so we will have more choices, people to play with and guilds to belong too.
Z
I remember when you had to hail every npc there was to find out if they had a quest or not..no silly symbols above their heads
I remember the awe of exploring unknown places because you took a wrong turn (because there was no such thing as waypoints or quest helpers)
I remember hating having to go back to my corpse to retrieve my items
I remember how fun mmo's used to be because it was a new concept 8 years ago or so, now they are all the same boring quest grind.
/cry
I've also been saying it for years. MMO's have only been going backwards, NOT forwards. DAoC...UO....I miss you so much. ;(
Will everyone PLEASE come back to DAoC when the Origin servers are released? PLEASE?! I want to experience GOOD PVP AGAIN!!!!
I remember when I wasn't forced to quest in order for my character to grow. I remember when I didn't have a stupid number pasted on my head to tell everyone how powerful I was. I remember when there were no Classes, only skills. I miss Star Wars Galaxies.
Tried: LotR, CoH, AoC, WAR, Jumpgate Classic
Played: SWG, Guild Wars, WoW
Playing: Eve Online, Counter-strike
Loved: Star Wars Galaxies
Waiting for: Earthrise, Guild Wars 2, anything sandbox.
I remember when Pking was actually a thrill and there was risk and reward for winning and losing. I remember when you needed to group to survive. I remember when Skill was more important than your equips.
I remember to not live in the past.
I remember when you made the toon you wanted, not the cookie cutter all the "experts" thought you should roll.
I remember "A Firbolg Bard?! Are you crazy?" Well Yeah... But I did it becuase it was unusual, heh heh...
I remember when the gaming community got together and held a memorial service for an in-game friend who lost his life in RL.
What a sight to see dozens of toons from all 3 realms come together to honor his memory...
Yeah, the games have advanced. The graphics are far better... I do miss the sense of community though...
I remember a community...not just a bunch of 'subs'
I remember when guilds were made up of friends...not just random ppl for the numbers!
i remember missing every singal random roll on loot quests in daoc and then my guild taking me and getting wanted/needed item
i remember in beta in swg when we lost a popular beta player that the development team put a memorial in game for said player
i remeber my first time reaching end game in daoc and how long it took me way back then
i remember certain areas of the game i looked forward to returning to with an alt because it was fun
i also remember when equipment was not bind on pick up and being albe to pass items to pals and or guild pals
i remember falling through the world or falling off a cliff and ending up in another game area
Exploring a big huge world and not have loading continualy appear
I remember PKs.. before PvP existed, man I hated them, and man I miss them.
I remember if you wanted to talk to someone who wasn't on your screen, you used ICQ.
I remember " Vendor buy the bank from the guards" (i hope someone else does)
I remeber no endgame, grouping to go do stuff. Loot that had no names, random drops, cheering for that .1 skill gain.
i remember wearing a tunic, a kilt, thighhigh boots, and taking off my helmet in town so no one would have any idea if i was a warrior, mage or have any idea what armor i had.
i remember standing around chatting for hours.
I remember running like hell if i clicked on someone and saw "Dread Lord"
I remember getting my ass whooped by that rabbit i wanted to skin, gut and cook.
How bout those guys that would sit fishing foor hours and hours every day? They would even ewar straw hats.
Most of all I remember my buddy Jarkel messaging me at 5am with crackpot schemes he cooked up( usually involving explosion potions).
I remember when I played The Empire Strikes Back on my Atari for hours and thought it was the best game ever. Now it can keep me entertained for about a minute. Games were NOT as great as you remember them being "back then".
I loved my POS Chevy Celebrity in college. I wouldnt' drive it now if you paid me=) Just like I would NEVER go back a play a game that revisits all that mind numbing tedium and frustrration that UO and EQ started. What a big waste of time it all was;) I could've created a few animated shorts with the time I used up playing those 1st MMOs;)